Pediform article



Jan. 20, 1931. I w. J, DE wn- 1,789,518

PEDIFORM AR'I I CLE Filed March 1. 1929 71 zzzz'aiitme vzzzzsazzzvrwa or discrepancies in fit may Patented Jan. 20, 1931 (UNITED STATES "-IPATENT. cl rics mums. nn

mm, or AUBURN, am 11:03:, ASSIGNOB 'ro anon roan: 00., me, or AUBURN, nnw'yonx, A oonroaa'non or NEW YORK rmnronu An'nonn 7 Application filed March 1, 1829. Serial 110.8483. .f'

This invention relates to a pediform article adapted to be used in fitting lasts and footwear to thehuman foot under various condi tions, and is a continuation in part of my 5 co-pending applicationSerial No. 221,536,

filed September 23, 1927.

In the art of making footwear and determining the accuraoy of fit of various. styles of shoes to the human foot, it has heretofore w been proposed by me to em loy a hollow, transparent shoe form which as been made upon the last to be tested or u 'on a lastused for makingshoes (as more ful y described in my co-pen 1 s filed April 21, 1927) whereby the accuracies be directly observed,-as well as felt,-by the wearer.

' Such devices and {procedures provide for the determination o the fit of the shoe or go last (corresponding to the shoe form) with respect to the human foot taken as a model,-- about the toe, ball, waist, instep and. heel;- and serve accurately to measure the several dimensions of those arts of the foot at rest.

25 But they do not ma e provisions for deter mining the changes which these'partsof thefoot undergo when the pressure of the persons weight is taken up b the foot and exerted a ainst the sole an sidewalls of the to shoe. d furthermore, they do not take into account the normally elevated position of the ersons heel relative to the ball and arch of the foot and the consequentconformation and tendency of the foot to thrust itself forwardly into the toe of the shoe. I Accordingly it is an objectof this invention to provide a pediform article adapted to be used in fittin lasts and footwear to a human foot while 1n the position and conished shoe and under the pressure transmitted thereto while the person is standing, walkin etc- Other objects will appear from the foowing'disclosure.

The invention includesgenerally the provision of a hollow pediform article having upper portion of ,the. shoe,

trans arent and partly from leat ng application Serial No. 185,615,

-mensions and its pro ortions relative to the 75 formation which the foot assumes in the fin-.

shoe) and an upper,

w olly from a suitable resilient, transparent sheet material such as celluloid, or partly from er, aperboar or the like. The upper may'inc ude a corresponding to the and fashioned toe member, quarter, vamp. member, etc., if

desired, and a counter or'heel portion, all conforming generally to the contour and determinations of the last which it represents and upon which it was fashioned. It has been found particularly desirable to make the toe member of transparent material and under some conditions to make the counter and other portions or all of the upper of such material. 7

The pediform article is preferably fashioned by moldin the several parts over the lasts to be teste or upon a last which has already been' standardized and is employed 'for making shoes. The pediform articleis placed upon the foot of the wearer. in the usual way and the accuracy of its overall dipersons foot are rea ily ascertained, as well as the conformation of the arch of the foot in respect to the height of the heel. The wearer then allows his-weight to bear upon the foot in the usual manner or while asvarious positions, the correspondects upon the disposition of the per: 'sons foot with espect to the shoe form being directly 0 served and if desired indicated by appropriate markings on the article itself. The last may then be remodelled according to such corrections as may be necessary and a new pediform article is made from the corrected last and tested in a similar manner.

-;In this way only-a few diform articles sumin mg e need be made for-the rea justing and perfecting of a new style of last to the requirements of the human foot. The articles are readily fashioned in whole or in part from sheet celluloid and shaped upon the initialor corrected last, as by heat and pressure, thus producing a substantially exact replica of the dimensions as well as of the shape of the last at each stage.

. Whenthe last is finished the pediform article made thereon is an accurate representation of the shoes which will subsequently be made from such last. Moreover, the foot which is taken as a model is presented to the articles in the various positions of use and in the conformations which are it by the sole member and heel of t e shoe. Hence it assures a complete indication of in actual use upon the foot of the prospective wearer. 1

Atypical applicationof the invention will be described, reference being had to the forms illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which: f

Fig. 1 is a side view of a pediform article with toe member and a counter, in which the side pieces of the counter are spaced apart; F Fig. 2 is a cross section on line 2 2 of i 1; J v

i 3 is a side view-of a, pediform article in w ich the two sides of the counter'exte'nd across thesole'ofthe shoe Fig. 4 is a Fi 3; V r- I .i 5 is a side view of a heel, sole and shank mem er;

Fi 6 is aside view of the heel, sole and shan member of Fig. -5, assembled with a solemember and counter.

In the ,drawings (Fig. 1) the article com rises a hollow toe member l, having a reinorcing iece 2 across the bottom and a sole or shan member 3 extending rearwardly in conformity with the arch to the, upper surface'of heel 4, to which it is joined. A counter 5 surmounts the heel, its forwardly pro'ecting sidewalls ,6 and 7 being inturned crosssection bn line 44 of att ebottom 8,9. as shown in Fi 2. The in turned edges may be covered y an inner sole '(or the end of the sole or shank member) 10.

The modificationshown in Fig. 3is similar to that already described, the side walls 6' whole sole 13, as s own in Fig.

and 7' and the counter being formed from a continuous .sheet of resilient material stretching across the bottom and extending forwardly to th etoe, while the rear of the heel is closed by the,inturned,' overlapping 'fla 511,12.

earticle ma alsobe provided with a p p 5 including a heel portion and'extending rwardly over the relatively solid shank portion 3, which may bemade of leather, and grooved at.14

to render it more flexible,and forming the "solefportion In. Fig. 6 the formillustrated in Fi 3 and 4 is shown in assembly with the s ank and sole members of Fig. 5. The'toe member of the upper may be fash-v lonedby molding a sheet 0 resilient, flexible material, such as transparent celluloid over the-last which is to be tested and which may be of the usual type. The sole or shank-mem 'ven to the conditions to be met by the shoe whileber and. the counter may likewise be shaped from celluloid or made from leather, etc., in the usual way. The counter may be made either by Passing a strip around the heel of the last and in turning the lower edges 8 and 9 (as in Fig. 2) or by passing the sheet around and across the bottom and turning in the flaps 11, 12 around-the heel'and overlapping them '(as in Fig. 31.

All of the over lapping surfaces may be cemented together by adhesive cements or by appl ing a solvent of the celluloid and pressing t e moistened surfaces into intimate contact. Thus theshank-member (3 or 3') may be fastened to, the counter 5, the counter 5 to the heel 4 .and, sole 13, and the toe member 1 to the sole '15.

The article as thus shapedand assembled may then he slipped uponthe human foot which is to serve asa model. Deviations from an accurate fit (whether due to the form bein too tight or too loose) gay now be observed and noted. The toe me her and the counter if'of transparent material permit direct observation through the walls of these portions as contrasted with the overall dimensions only to which oneis limited'when trying on an opaque shoe of leather, for example.

he person may now bringhis wei ht to bear upon the foot as thus encased in the shoe form, shift his weight, walk, etc., thus subjecting his foot to varying pressures and v conformations. The corresponding distortions of the foot are observed in their relationship to the article andany necessary corrections to be made therein are noted.

If it is the last that is being tested, it will be remodelled or reshaped to such extent as the observations may indicate, and a second article'made and-tested in like manner. This. is're eated untila correct ad'ustment of the as been secured. In t is way a new last last and a new style of shoe may be scientifically developed, with the assurance that the style of shoe is correct and also that shoes made in accordance with the finished last will be comfortable to the wearer under all of the normal conditions of use. It especially insures proper allowance in the she e and proportions of the shoe, in respect of t e relaositions of. the toe, shank and heel of tive the ished shoe and of the last required to secure such a standardized last .(from which shoes are proportions in the shoes to be" made thereon. When-the pediform article used represents being made or are to be made in regular courseof manufacture) .it 'is only necessary to determine whether or not-the shoe is of the ri ht size'and of'the right style for the wearer s foot. The article immediatelyindicates whether the shoes made from such last will fit the wearer and whetherthey provide an accurate fit for' thefoot in the various posii a v l ao' tions which it assumes under different conditions, such as standing, walking, etc. In any case, it is certain that the shoes made upon the same last as the pediform article whlch is thus used as in the test will be, satisfactory in every respect. In this connection it may be observed that many people require a shoe which shall be especially adapted for long standing. Others 22nd day 0 Fevlgrruary, 1929.

need a shoe for walking, only occasional walking or standing. Again, it may be essential that the shoe selected shall be retained upon the foot in numerous unnatural positions, as when operating the brake and accelerator pedals of an. automobile, when sitting upon a in like positions. The appropriateness of the shoe under such conditions and the exact points at which it fails to meet them may be thus definitely ascertained by observation of the article on the wearers rected in new styles or by selecting another style, as directed by previous observations.

In the correction of certain foot troubles it is desirable to have the foot under more or less constant observation, and the present invention is highly useful for such purposes. Thus, it provides for the construction of a shoe or other article of footwear which may in all substantial particulars follow the construction of usual shoes in respect to the material employed and the mode of assembling its parts, except that at selected portions the material employed is transparent so as to permit ready inspection of the adjacent parts of the foot without exposing them to the ele-' ments.

I claim:

, -1. A pediform article comprising a solid heel, a sole member extending forwardly from the heel, a counter having side walls, and a hollow toe memberof resilient transparent material. I

2. A pediform article comprising a solid heel, a

resilient transparent material, and a hollow toe member.

3. A pediform article comprising a solid heel, a sole member extendlng forwardly from the heel, a counter having side walls of resilient transparent material, and a hollow toe member of resilient transparent material.

4. A pediform article including a shank or sole member, a counter, and a hollow toe member of resilient transparent material, said shank member being grooved to render the same flexible.

Signed b me at Auburn, New York, this ILLIAM J. DE WITT.

and still others for high stool, or

foot and corsole member extending forwardly from the heel, a counter having side walls of 

